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"A survey of 2,462 Advanced Placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers finds that digital technologies are shaping student writing in myriad ways and have also become helpful tools for teaching writing to middle and high school students.  These teachers see the internet and digital technologies such as social networking sites, cell phones and texting, generally facilitating teens' personal expression and creativity, broadening the audience for their written material, and encouraging teens to write more often in more formats than may have been the case in prior generations.  At the same time, they describe the unique challenges of teaching writing in the digital age, including the "creep" of informal style into formal writing assignments and the need to better educate students about issues such as plagiarism and fair use"

"Creative writing can be a daunting task for students who struggle to think of story ideas or who don't love the writing process. For kids who have trouble putting pen to paper, there are a handful of fantastic iPad apps that just might inspire them to tell a story. Your students will be able to gather ideas, brainstorm and publish writing straight from their tablet."

"One good thing about this easy-to-use technology is that students can still use important English language arts skills like writing a narrative, planning a sequential story, and including key details when getting ready to make a movie. These apps can enhance the work that you are doing with children in the classroom and give them room to be creative storytellers."

"Kik describes itself as, 'the fastest, simplest, most personal smartphone messenger out there.' It is an app that can be downloaded onto a smart phone, an iPod, or iPad and users can text others for free. This is one of its allures! At the time of writing 19 million had joined Kik Messenger. It is fun, effective, cheap so what are the dangers?"

"Distraction is the dominant currency in our digitally focused culture. I personally find it hard to concentrate when being plugged on particularly when the task I am working on is so important that it requires a high degree of mindful consciousness like for instance scribbling few pages  on my thesis, writing a journal article, doing a literature review...etc. Anytime I embark on one of these tasks I always make sure to turn off WiFi and put my phone on flight mode. My brain can't handle the distraction coming off these devices."